It is a tough day for Vancouver and Calgary sports media, as the last radio home for the Canucks and Flames is no more. Sportsnet 650 has been taken off the air, as the usual Halford & Brough morning show did not air this morning. For Sportsnet 960, this was their last day on the air. Staff met on Tuesday morning to discuss these impending changes and layoffs.
Sportsnet 650's demise reminds us that lack of competition is bad for Canadians theprovince.com/sports/sport…
Sportsnet 650 and 960 Shutdown Among Other Stations
Sportsnet 650 and Rogers signed a 10-year deal four years ago, which runs through 2032-33, where the deal covered both television and radio rights. Rogers would seem to hold power over the broadcast structure, and these cuts could mean just that. The presumed loss of Sportsnet 650 follows the loss of TSN 1040 just five years ago, marking massive job cuts in sports media. Many local media members from TSN 1040 had transitioned to continuing their shows on other platforms, including Donnie & Dhali (now on CHEK), Sekeres & Price (streaming on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts), and RinkWide (streaming on YouTube, X, other podcast networks, affiliated with Go Goat Sports).
The stations that are set to go off the air today include 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM), Vancouver; Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM), Vancouver’s last remaining sports radio station; 660 NewsRadio (CFFR-AM), Calgary; 960 AM (CFAC-AM), Calgary; NewsRadio 95.7 (CJNI-FM), Halifax; and 570 NewsRadio (CKGL-AM), Kitchener. This marks a cut of 230 positions across Rogers divisions, following the shuttering of these six radio stations.
(Credit Image: Science Photo Library)
The Future of Hockey Radio Broadcasts
With this shutdown, Calgary Flames broadcasts will no longer operate in radio format, while Vancouver Canucks radio broadcasts will continue in some capacity on another station in the market. This marks another big blow to radio and calls into question the future of radio and its profitability for shareholders.
It’s already been an offseason of change in the hockey broadcasting landscape in Canada. This is just another change.
Main photo by: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
